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Old 08-15-2007, 01:28 PM
 
3,219 posts, read 6,582,736 times
Reputation: 1852

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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
Fairfield has some working class areas that contain older but well maintained homes. Because of their age and style (simple early 20th Century mill homes), they may appear to be "less desirable" to Jeremy but they are mainly just starter homes or homes for working class people. They are still very nice areas with good working-class people who care for their home and community just as much as the people in the mansions in other parts of town. That is the nice thing about Fairfield, it has a broad range of housing options.

West Hartford is very similar to Fairfield. It has its working class area as well, Elmwood. Homes there are older and of a style that is not considered the most desireable. They are again homes for working-class people that are generally well maintained.

As for Byram, well it is Greenwich and a home in Byram is so much more expensive than homes in virtually every other town in the country, I would not clssify it as "less desirable". Less desirable than the estate on Round Hill yes. Less desirable than a home in most other communites, not really.

As for Fort Lee, it is hard to compare since Fort Lee has a wide range of options. I am not sure if there are any bad areas (it has been a while since I have been there), but Greenwich, Fairfield and West Hartford are all very nice, somewhat pricey to very pricey suburbs that really do not have any bad areas. You will be fine in any of them. Jay
Well I don't live in Fort Lee itself (I did say Fort Lee, NJ area as a general vicinity comparison). I actually live in Ridgefield, NJ (not CT - lol!) bordering Cliffside Park and Fairview. Perhaps my locale is not going to make for a fair comparison to CT in many ways. As far as cost probably those lovely upscale towns/cities you mention would definately be out of my league. This part of NJ (for those others that don't know) is definately urban with a heavy population. I've been to Greenwich, Darien, Norwalk, Trumbull, New Haven, Bridgeport, and West Hartford. I drove through Middletown back in November 2006 on a bleak gray day and it looked to be a little run down or was in the not so nice area of town off of Main Street - maybe I'm too used to my affluent area too much - I don't know.

"IF" I were to move to CT it'll probably be within the Middletown and River Valley vicinity I think - so the question from this point would be in the "vicinity/area" I speak of are there "ghetto" areas that I should avoid totally? Sorry if this seems to be repetitive and openended (not my intention). I'm sure though I'd be in for a culture shock to an extent as far as how the areas in CT stack-up and way of living verses where I currently reside now. I'm trying to simplify my life and "cheapen" my cost of living and it won't happen here in my current neck of the woods. I'd love to get away from the NYC influence, materialism, consumerism, and attitude. A real added bonus would be public transportation availability as I did do online research, but to me the best indicator on its usefulness would come from people who actually use it if available.

Maybe someone knowing my neck of the woods can recommend additional areas to me in CT. I'm as Single as they come middle 40's man who'd be relocating (if it happens) alone without knowing anyone

Thanks so much to everyone reading this long post.

 
Old 08-15-2007, 02:48 PM
 
Location: DFW, formerly NYC/CT/CA
417 posts, read 600,911 times
Reputation: 304
njguy,

Ridgefield,nj I believe price wise and schooling/desirability is similar to that of Trumbull or maybe even Grgtwn(historic district of redding)/Wilton. As for comparing the town you live in to fairfield co. suburbs I don't think you will find it "less desirable" anywhere except perhaps the part of Trumbull bordering Bridgeport (nichols area,trumbull, is a very beautiful and desirable part-should check houses there)!

p.s.- My cousins used to llive in Edison and I have a bunch of friends in Parsippany//Franklin Lakes.(I live next to Middletown in Cromwell and yeah downtown can get a little trashy especially near grand ave. but main st. has really nice shoppes/restaurants).

Oh yeah... if your main focus is the CT river valley you should try durham a small town with a pop. of about 9,000 and has a historic main st as well as excellent schools with reasonable home prices (up to 3,000 sf newer homes/0-15 yrs old around 550k on 2 ac+ lots!). Durham has easy commutes to middletown,meriden,hartford, and new haven/shoreline (Eastern). If Durham is not your type try Middlefield (same school district) with rural character but different charm lyman Orchards is there!

Last edited by RiskReturn; 08-15-2007 at 02:57 PM..
 
Old 08-15-2007, 04:42 PM
 
575 posts, read 3,132,730 times
Reputation: 278
Quote:
Originally Posted by njguy View Post
"IF" I were to move to CT it'll probably be within the Middletown and River Valley vicinity I think - so the question from this point would be in the "vicinity/area" I speak of are there "ghetto" areas that I should avoid totally? Sorry if this seems to be repetitive and openended (not my intention). I'm sure though I'd be in for a culture shock to an extent as far as how the areas in CT stack-up and way of living verses where I currently reside now. I'm trying to simplify my life and "cheapen" my cost of living and it won't happen here in my current neck of the woods. I'd love to get away from the NYC influence, materialism, consumerism, and attitude. A real added bonus would be public transportation availability as I did do online research, but to me the best indicator on its usefulness would come from people who actually use it if available.
The CT river valley has some nice towns, with most populations under 10,000. Middletown would have the largest population and is considered a city, the downtown area does have some "ghetto" areas..and the city does have its share of city-like problems. Housing is quite affordable but the tax rate is high.

If you're looking for public transportation..the river valley lacks it totally. Middletown has some buses, but hear they are not efficient. The closest public trans. in the river valley would bein Old Saybrook where there is a shoreline east station (you can connect to the New Haven line from this area. This part of CT is not heavily populated so public transport is least available (its hardly exisitent in highly populated central Connecticut).

If you're looking to cheapen your cost of living, avoid the towns of Essex, Killingworth, Old Saybrook, Clinton and the "lymes" as their housing prices are quite high.
 
Old 08-15-2007, 05:51 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,942 posts, read 56,958,583 times
Reputation: 11229
Middletown is a nice small city with a pleasant downtown and a nice mix of housing options. There are a lot of godd shops, restaurants and entertainment options. As glxyman21 indicated there are a few areas that are "sketchy" but I do not agree that taxes are high there. I own property in Middletown and find the taxes to be reasonable in comparison to other communities. Maybe that is just me though. I do not mind paying taxes as much as most people do. Middletown does have a bus system that is centered around downtown. I am not sure how good the service is but this is a pretty small city so it can't be that extensive. Jay
 
Old 08-16-2007, 12:28 PM
 
29 posts, read 187,076 times
Reputation: 21
Default Bridgeport and the Ghetto

Like all big cities BPT does have some ghetto areas, however there are nice area's too. The north end of BPT, the Treeland section and the area's close to the Fairfield are nice areas. People should class bridgeport as Ghetto just some area's are because of the class of people that live there.
 
Old 08-16-2007, 12:46 PM
 
67 posts, read 303,641 times
Reputation: 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyshab98 View Post
Like all big cities BPT does have some ghetto areas, however there are nice area's too. The north end of BPT, the Treeland section and the area's close to the Fairfield are nice areas. People should class bridgeport as Ghetto just some area's are because of the class of people that live there.
Do you by any chance live in Bridgeport?

If you noticed the points that you made of where there are nice areas, they are all on the borders of another town. And I mean right on the borders.
 
Old 08-16-2007, 12:55 PM
 
36 posts, read 180,052 times
Reputation: 24
I've been told by many that Trumbull is a middle class ghetto...
 
Old 09-02-2007, 06:59 AM
 
3 posts, read 11,874 times
Reputation: 12
Hi
I currently live in Bergen County (I own businesses in Tenafly and Bergenfield), and I have decided to buy a home in Killingworth because I am so tired of the corruption and high taxes in NJ. Killingworth has extremely low crime and property taxes that are reasonable. I also got sick of the super liberal attitude of everybody in NJ
 
Old 09-02-2007, 09:50 AM
 
Location: Cheshire, Conn.
2,102 posts, read 7,758,917 times
Reputation: 539
Quote:
Originally Posted by robbieobern View Post
I also got sick of the super liberal attitude of everybody in NJ
Uh oh, we're among the most liberal states behind Rhode Island, Delaware, and Massachusetts.
 
Old 10-07-2007, 04:17 PM
 
Location: Madison, CT
66 posts, read 346,853 times
Reputation: 41
Default This is not Xanadu

Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, HARTFORD, New Britain, Meridan, parts of Norwalk, parts of Danbury, then redneck lands where the Confederate Flag flies high in the northeast. Sorry if I missed out on any other areas
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